Apologies to a Dead Man
by doomweasel
Summary: After an inordinate delay, behold CHAPTER TEN. STORY SO FAR: Sora and Kairi want to learn what happened to their Nobodies. NOW: Sora, Kairi, and Riku witness how much Radiant Garden has changed. However, some things will remain the same no matter what.
1. Chapter 1

"What are you thinking about, Sora? Because it sure isn't math."

Sora looked up from his doodle-covered notebook and grinned sheepishly. "Uh... sorry, Kairi. I just can't concentrate, you know?" He rolled over onto his back and stared up at his bedroom ceiling. "Lately I can't think straight at all."

Kairi, lying a few feet away, reached across the paper-strewn floor and grabbed Sora's notebook. Her eyes widened at the crude drawing of a red-haired man clad in black and she looked at Sora. "This is..."

"Axel, yeah." Sora craned his head back to look at Kairi. "I met him only a few times, but... I dunno. It's like we were old friends, but we didn't quite recognize each other." _Because of Roxas. He knew Axel... they were friends._ Sora played with the hem of his shirt awkwardly. "And... before he died... he told me he just wanted to see Roxas again." Sighing, he looked back up at the ceiling and ran a hand through his hair. "I... I feel bad for him, you know? Because Roxas was with him, and he didn't even know it. I just... I just want to apologize to him. Or _something._"

Her gaze returning to the drawing, Kairi thought quietly for a while. "Are you sure that _you're_ the one who wants to apologize?" she finally asked.

"Huh?" Sora tried looking at Kairi, found it too difficult on his back, and rolled onto his belly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you sure that _you_ want to apologize to Axel, and it's not _Roxas_ who does?" Kairi sat up and tossed the notebook back to Sora. She tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and looked absently out the window. "Sometimes, I can feel Naminé inside me. Like, I used to love peanut butter. I'd eat it all the time."

"Yeah, you'd just stick a spoon in the jar and eat it plain. That was so nasty!"

Kairi chuckled, a sad little laugh. "Well, now I can't stand the stuff. I guess Naminé doesn't like it. And she loves to look at the full moon – I can feel her smile every time I glance up at it." She locked eyes with Sora. "So do _you_ want to see Axel again, or does _Roxas?_"

He'd never thought of it that way. Sora folded his hands on the floor and rested his chin on them, his brow furrowed in deep thought. "I think... both of us do," he muttered, "but for kind of different reasons." He looked away and rested one of his hands on his head, partially obscuring his face.

"Hmm..." The two were silent for several minutes, both lost in their own minds. Finally, Kairi perked up a bit. "Do you think the King could help you?"

"Hey, yeah!" Sora sat up excitedly. "He used to be good friends with Ansem the Wise – I'll bet he knows about what happens to a Nobody when they're destroyed. Let's go ask him!" He jumped to his feet, face aglow with enthusiasm.

"But Sora, how will we contact him?"

Sora stopped, pondered for a moment, then plopped dejectedly on the floor. "Oh. Yeah." He always forgot the little details like that. Still, there had to be a way! He rubbed his chin and pondered for a few seconds before snapping his fingers. "Ah! Let's ask Riku! He was with the King more than we were, so I'll be he knows!"

"Okay! Good idea!"

They jumped to their feet, all prospects of homework forgotten, and thundered down the stairs of Sora's house. "Mom! We're going to Riku's!" Sora yelled as he shoved his feet into his shoes. Not bothering to wait for an answer, he followed Kairi out the door and ran down the street. They were both so intimately familiar with the way that neither paused for an instant to consider where they were going, and in a matter of minutes they were at the house Riku shared with his older sister. Already sweating in the tropical heat, Sora wiped his face and rang the doorbell, flashing Kairi an optimistic grin.

A young woman with the same platinum hair as Riku, only pulled back in a long ponytail, answered the door, a water bottle in one hand and a towel over her shoulder. "Oh. Hey guys, come on in." She stepped aside to let Sora and Kairi in, taking a swig from her bottle as she did so. "Baby Brother's sleeping right now. I'll go wake him up."

"Riku's sleeping?" Sora asked, glancing at his watch. "You've got to be kidding me, Yuri It's three o'clock!"

Yuri shrugged. "It's those new painkillers they gave him. The doc says they're not as strong as the old ones, but they knock him out for almost an hour every day. Some kinda side effect or something."

_Riku's still taking meds for his broken ribs?_ Sora wondered, slightly perturbed by the information. He must have been injured worse than they first thought. "How much longer will he need to take them?"

Yuri shrugged by way of reply. She tossed the water bottle and the towel onto the couch in the living room; an exercise video of some kind was paused on the TV. "C'mon, let's wake up Sleeping Beauty."

Sora and Kairi followed Yuri down a small hallway to Riku's door. "Rikuuuu!" Yuri yelled, pounding her fist on the door. "Get your lazy ass outta bed!"

"Go'way, dammit!" came the slurred reply.

"You've got com-pa-neeeee!" Yuri sang, tapping out a rhythm on the door. Kairi stifled a giggle.

Sora heard a sleepy growl from behind the door and the sounds of Riku stumbling to the door. Finally it opened and Riku peered out of his darkened room, wearing nothing more than some shorts and a rumpled undershirt. He blinked in the bright light until he could finally see. "Oh! Sora. Kairi. Hey. C'mon in." Yawning, Riku ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and opened the door wide enough for them to enter.

Immediately Kairi walked to the window and opened the blinds, letting sunlight flood the room and making Riku wince and cover his eyes briefly. Kairi ignored his reaction. "How're you doing, Riku?" she asked, clearing some loose papers off a chair so she could sit down. Normally Riku's room was very clean, but lately he'd been falling behind.

"Just peachy," Riku replied in a deadpan tone. He stiffly sat down on the edge of his bed, carefully favoring his left side. "I don't know what the hell those docs are giving me now, but I feel like a narcoleptic." He smiled lopsidedly. "At least I have an excuse for falling asleep in class now – and I swear, Sora, if you so much as _try_ poking me in the ribs, I'll kill you where you stand."

Sora, who had been edging suspiciously close to Riku, held up his hands and looked as innocent as he possibly could. "I wasn't even thinking about it."

Riku snorted. "Yeah, right." He suppressed another yawn and rubbed his eyes. "So. What's up?"

"We need to contact King Mickey."

His mind a little muddled from sleep and the painkillers for the ribs broken by Xemnas, Riku had trouble comprehending Sora. "...Wait... what...? ...Why?"

"King Mickey knows a lot about Nobodies."

"...And?"

Kairi jumped to the rescue. "Sora's been bothered lately by what happened to Axel," she explained. "He wants to know what exactly happens to Nobodies when their bodies are destroyed."

"Oooooooooh." Riku looked from Kairi to Sora, then back to Kairi. "So... what do we do?"

_You've got to be kidding me!_ Sora made a strangled sound in his throat and pulled at his hair with frustration. "That's what we're here to ask _you!_"

"What made you think _I'd _know?"

"Well, you spent the most time with him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not like he gave me his phone number or anything – "

"Guys!" Kairi interrupted, hoping to gain control of the situation before it got out of hand. "Stop arguing! You won't solve anything."

"We're not arguing!" the two protested in unison.

Kairi crumpled up some of Riku's old homework and somehow managed to hit both of them with a paper ball at the same time. "Yes you are. Stop it. Now listen up, I just got an idea – Sora, you secured the passageways between worlds, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So that means people can travel safely between worlds now, right?"

"Yeah." _But we don't have a Gummi ship_, Sora thought, although he figured Kairi wasn't headed in that direction.

Drawing her legs up until she was squatting on the chair, Kairi leaned forward excitedly. "So all we have to do is somehow transmit a message through the right passageway."

Riku thoughtfully tapped his teeth with his thumbnail. "That _would _work," he began, "except that we have no way to send a message."

"Oh! What about Kairi's message in a bottle?" Sora suggested. "That found me eventually." He smiled at Kairi, who happily returned the gesture.

"That took almost a month to reach you," Riku, ever pragmatic, replied. "So unless you want to wait that long..."

He didn't, and neither did Roxas. Sora frowned and crossed his arms, then shrugged; what choice did he have? "Maybe it'll take less time – I'm pretty sure Kingdom Hearts is the furthest away you can get from _anything_."

"I've got a bottle we can use!" Kairi offered, raising her hand in the air as if she were in class. "Sora, you can write the message."

"Well, that's great," Riku said, carefully laying down on his bed. "You guys get right on that, and I'll go back to sleep."

Sora and Kairi exchanged knowing glances, grinned, and maneuvered into an attack position. "Oh no you don't!" Sora yelled. He grabbed Riku's arm while Kairi latched onto Riku's leg, and with one heave they pulled Riku out of bed and into an undignified heap onto the floor.

"Ow ow ow! Son of a bitch!" Riku swore, untangling himself from his sheets. "You guys are so dead!"

"You're gonna hafta catch us first!" Kairi teased.

She and Sora dashed out with Riku hot on their heels. As the three of them sprinted down the street, shouting playful insults at each other, Sora couldn't stop smiling. For a long time there had been a small part of him, a stubborn little bit of his soul, that always felt lonesome and sad. But not anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Though it was only a short note, Sora agonized over how to say exactly what he needed to say as he sat on a bench near the beach. It took him five minutes to start the damn thing._ Dear Your Majesty,_ he started, then crossed it out. _King Mickey,_ he wrote, then crossed that out too. Turning to a fresh sheet of paper in his notebook, Sora tapped the pen to his chin a few times before beginning, _Hi, Your Majesty._

_It's Sora. I'm writing this because I've been thinking for a while now, and I've been wondering a lot about the Organization and Nobodies and stuff like that. Like, what happened to the Organization when we destroyed them? I know they're just shells and stuff, but still – where did their bodies go? I was also wondering – if Nobodies don't have hearts or emotions, then how come Axel did all that stuff for Roxas's sake? And sometimes I feel sad when I should be happy, or lonely when I'm with my friends, and I think that I'm feeling what Roxas is feeling. But he's a Nobody, right? So how can he be feeling anything? Kairi says that she can feel Naminé too, so it's not just me._

_It's okay if you can't answer all my questions – it' s just that you were the only person we could think of to ask. Hope to hear from you soon, and say hi to Donald and Goofy for me._

_--Sora_

"Tell King Mickey that I said 'hi,'" Riku interjected, leaning on the back of the bench and peering over Sora's shoulder. He shoveled a spoonful of fruit from one of the fruit cups they'd bought on the way to beach into his mouth.

_PS – Riku says hi,_ Sora added at the bottom.

"Oh! Tell him I said 'hi' too!" Kairi added from where she sat next to Sora, waving her spoon.

"C'mon guys, I'm running out of room here!" Still, Sora managed to squeeze in, _PPS – Kairi says hi too,_ in tiny letters. He rolled up the sheet of paper and slipped it into the bottle Kairi handed him. Standing, he firmly stopped the bottle with a cork, walked to the edge of the sea, and hurled the bottle as far as he could, the force of his throw nearly causing him to topple into the water.

The bottle glinted in the sunlight as it arced through the air, finally hitting the water with a small splash a hundred meters away. Sora shielded his eyes with his hand and watched the bottle as it bobbed gently in the ocean, hoping that the cork would keep the water out, that the current would carry it the right way that a whale wouldn't eat it –

"That was a pretty decent throw," Riku said, interrupting Sora's worried thoughts.

"I'd like to see you do better," Sora challenged, grinning.

Riku lobbed his empty fruit cup at a trash can twenty feet away and sank the shot cleanly. "I would, if I hadn't gotten busted up saving your life."

_Ouch._ Sora looked down and kicked at the sand with his toe. He knew that Riku was just joking, but still...

Fortunately, Kairi came to the rescue. "Hey, why don't we go swimming at the island?" she suggested after finishing her fruit. "We haven't been there together for ages!"

"Hey, yeah!" Sora agreed.

"All right," Riku said. "If my boat still floats."

They made a brief return to their houses to grab their swim gear, then strolled down to the marina. Riku's boat was indeed still afloat, right where he'd left it moored long ago, and they each cast off in their respective vessels. In the old days, Sora and Riku would have raced all the way to the island, but now Riku wasn't up to his full strength and Sora was out of practice anyway, which is probably why Kairi beat them both.

She'd already tied off her boat and run off to the changing hut by the time Riku and Sora reached the dock. They secured their boats, grabbed their things, and, not as modest as Kairi, walked up the path to find some bushes large enough to change behind. "God, I haven't come here since forever," Riku remarked, gazing with amazement at his surroundings. Suddenly he winced and rolled his left shoulder, holding his side gingerly. "And I probably should have waited a little longer before coming back."

"I could have rowed you here, if you'd asked," Sora offered.

Riku laughed and shook his head. "No thanks, man. I'd rather swim."

"I'm _serious_, Riku. It's the least I can do."

Noticing the concern in Sora's voice, Riku just smiled instead of dismissing the offer offhand. "Thanks, Sora. Now let's get changed."

They simultaneously discovered that both their swimsuits were now too small. However, while Sora could get away wearing his, Riku's old trunks were rapidly approaching Speedo territory. Though Sora tried to convince him, between bouts of hysterical giggling, that it was a good look for him, Riku wasn't persuaded and decided to just wear his regular shorts. They bundled up their discarded clothes and trotted back down to the beach, playfully trying to trip one another as they walked. When they reached the waterfront, Kairi still hadn't emerged from the hut. "Aw, c'mon, Kairi!" Sora hollered. "Hurry up!"

"Just a sec!" Kairi shouted back. A few seconds later she emerged from the hut, and Sora's jaw dropped at the sight of . Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and she wore a bikini that showed off her figure to its fullest. It was, without a doubt, the least amount of clothing that Sora had ever seen Kairi wear; judging from Riku's reaction, it was the least that _he'd_ seen her wear, too.

Kairi noticed them staring at her and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Cut it out! My parents got this for me, so quit staring – I know it looks stupid!"

"No, no!" Sora protested, holding up his hands. "You don't look stupid at all – you look great! Right, Riku?"

Riku couldn't seem to bring himself to speak and just nodded.

"Hmph." Kairi eyed them suspiciously, but they managed to summon their most innocuous faces and the subject was dropped.

The three splashed into the water, laughing and shouting with glee as the cold water shocked their skin. Kairi and Sora teamed up on Riku and dunked him, but while underwater Riku managed to pants Sora. As Kairi laughed at Sora's frantic attempts to pull his shorts back up, Riku grabbed her ankles and flipped her head-over-heels, completing his revenge. Next came a splashing contest, an underwater-handstand contest, and a fruitless – but nevertheless entertaining – attempt to catch a school of fish. Even while playing, Sora couldn't help but stop once in a while to gaze at the horizon, searching for some sign of the King's reply. He knew it was stupid to do so – there was no way the bottle had even reached the King yet – but his eyes were still drawn inexorably towards the open sea. A part of him was waiting on edge for a reply, for answers, and try as he might, Sora couldn't quiet that part of him down.

"Hey! Sora!" Riku splashed water in Sora's face, snapping him out of his troubled reverie. "C'mon, we're heading home."

"Oh, okay." Sora wiped the seawater out of his eyes and followed Riku to shore, where Kairi was toweling herself off. As he watched his two friends pick off seaweed and shake water out of their hair, Sora was suddenly struck by how much the scene was like when they were young – and yet so radically different. Kairi was no longer a little girl; she had the body of a nearly-grown woman. And Riku... Sora glanced at the surgical scars on Riku's side where doctors had repaired his shattered bones, a relic of the battle they'd fought together. His friends had changed. And as for Sora?

_I'm taller,_ Sora thought, smiling ruefully._ And that's about it. _Though he still found it hard to believe he'd spent so much time asleep, he was starting to feel the effects of missing an entire year of his life. He did a double-take whenever he saw the date; he'd missed births and deaths of relatives; he had an entire grade's worth of school to make up. Kairi seemed older than him now, and Riku had matured as well. Sometimes Sora felt like the only one who was still a kid.

The vermilion sea was calm as glass as the three slowly made their way home. Sora only halfway listened to Riku and Kairi's lighthearted conversation as he scanned the distance for some sort – any sort – of reply to his letter. They reached shore, night fell, and no reply came.


	3. Chapter 3

A day passed, then three, then a week, and no word from King Mickey came. A persistent feeling of despondency began to grow in Sora's chest, and he knew Roxas was beginning to lose hope. "Hold on, Roxas," he muttered to himself, gazing out the classroom window at the sun-drenched water.

"What was that, Sora?" his teacher asked.

Sora jumped back to attention, accidentally knocking his pencil off his desk in his surprise. "Oh! Nothing. Just talking to myself."

His teacher gave him an odd look but said nothing and continued with the lesson. Sora noticed that people did that a lot these days; ever since he'd returned they seemed to think he was retarded or insane or both, and determinedly ignored any oddities of his. Sora wasn't sure if it was better than being pestered with awkward questions or not.

"Here's your pencil," Tidus whispered.

"Thanks," Sora muttered back, leaning across the aisle to take it. "What class are we in again?"

Tidus snorted and slapped his desk. "I know exactly how you feel, man. I'm just counting the minutes until we're out of here for good."

"Really? How many are left?"

"Three thousand, four hundred eighty," Tidus replied without blinking. He caught Sora's awed expression and grinned. "Naw, I just made that up. I actually have no idea. Five days left, though."

The reminder did nothing to ease Sora's restlessness. The rest of the day was spent doodling, daydreaming, and staring vaguely out the window. When the day was finally over, the first thing Sora did after leaving school was head down to the beach. He combed the sand for any sort of container – bottle, plastic bag, he didn't care what as long as it could hold a note. He was so engrossed with his search that he didn't even notice Kairi until she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Somehow I knew I'd find you here," she said, smiling. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Sora replied, not meeting her eyes. However, her inquisitive gaze still burned into him and he felt compelled to continue. "It's just... the more I think about things, the less they make sense. All the Organization wanted was to have hearts again, right? Is that really so bad? I mean, it must be horrible to be alive, but not have a heart..."

"It is."

Stunned into silence, Sora stared at Kairi, who clasped her hands behind her back and looked out over the water. "What... what do you mean?"

"I mean, I remember what it's like. I remember the emptiness... it's horrible. I've never felt anything like it, and I never want to feel it again." Though the air was warm, Kairi shivered and hugged herself. "I know that what happened to me is different than what happened to them, but if what I experienced was anything like what Naminé and the others went through, then I don't blame them at all."

"So... you understand what I mean?"

Kairi nodded. "Absolutely."

Sora smiled with relief. "Oh good. I was afraid you'd think I'm crazy or something. I mean, the Organization were the bad guys and here I am feeling sorry for them."

"That's not crazy. That's called having a heart."

"Yeah..." A sudden breeze kicked up, forming little eddies of sand and tugging at Sora's hair and clothes, almost as if it beckoned him out over the ocean. Or perhaps taunting him because he couldn't.

The days seemed to grow longer and hotter as the end of school loomed. Though they were supposed to hold final exams, few teachers actually did, and many tests were so easy that no studying was needed. It was just as well – Sora couldn't stay focused for more than a few minutes, and the other students weren't faring much better. By that point, there was more chatting in the classrooms than learning.

Finally, the last day rolled around. The entire day was spent staring anxiously at the clock until last hour. Though they were now too old to count down aloud, it was obvious that everyone was mentally. "Ten, nine, eight..." Sora murmured, watching the second hand. He shouldered his backpack and readied himself to jump up at a second's notice. "...Three, two, one..."

Everyone sprung to their feet in unison and bolted for the door. Sora met Kairi in the hallway and they hurried down to Riku's classroom, laughing and gossiping with people along the way. They caught him just leaving the room, yawning and rubbing his face, and promptly pounced on him. "Riku! Everyone's headed out to the island!" Kairi said, jumping up and down a little. "Let's get changed and head on over!"

"Sounds good," Riku replied, loosening his uniform tie with one finger and unbuttoning his collar.

They started towards the door, letting themselves get caught up in the flow of students rushing for the exit. "I should've expected you'd fall asleep on a day like today," Sora teased, and he jabbed Riku with his elbow – but not too roughly.

"Shut up," Riku retorted, cuffing Sora lightly on the head. "I have to take my meds twice a day, and one of those times is during school."

"Couldn't you just take them once you got home?" Kairi asked.

Was that a mischievous twinkle in Riku's eye? "Yeah, probably. Like I said, it gives me an excuse to fall asleep during class. You would not be_lieve_ how boring chemistry is."

The three friends went their separate ways briefly to return to their homes and change into their street clothes, then met up again and hurried down to the dock. Tidus, Selphie, and others were already launching their boats. An entire fleet of teenagers assaulted the island, beached their ships and surged up the sun-baked sand. As had been the ritual for countless summers, they whiled away the afternoon sparring with wooden sticks, playing blitzball, and racing around the beach.

After a particularly intense tree-climbing race with Wakka, Sora loped over to Riku's island to cool down. Not surprisingly, the silver-haired boy was sitting on the paopu tree, apparently deep in thought. "Hey, Riku," Sora said, leaning against the tree trunk.

"Hey." The two sat in comfortable silence for some time until finally Riku said, almost to himself, "Nothing's changed, huh?"

Hadn't they? All Sora could think about these days was how different everything was. But then... maybe things weren't so different. The sun still rose and set, the night breeze was still warm... most of all, he and Riku and Kairi were still friends. That'd never change. "Nope," Sora replied, smiling. "Nothing will."

"What a small world."

"But part of one that's much bigger."

Riku nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah..."

"Sora! Riku!"

The two boys turned to see Kairi running up to them, waving frantically. "Hey, what's up?" Sora asked as she skidded to a stop before them.

Out of breath from racing to find them, Kairi could only manage to pant, "Look!" and held up a glass bottle with a slip of paper inside.

Sora's eyes widened when he saw a green stamp on the paper; he'd recognize that seal anywhere! "From the king?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. He snatched the bottle from Kairi and slipped the message out. Kairi and Riku leaned so close that Sora could feel their breath on his cheeks as they read over his shoulder.

_Sora-_

_Sorry I can't come see ya in person – a king can get pretty busy sometimes. But I got your letter and I understand why you're so upset. The heart is a very confusing business, and sometimes the more you think about it the more crazy it gets. Since I can't see you, you can come see me. I'm sending Donald and Goofy to come and get ya – and Riku and Kairi too, if ya want. Once you come back to Disney Castle, we can talk, okay?_

_--King Mickey_

Sora couldn't quite believe what he was reading. _Donald and Goofy? They're coming here?_ "When was this sent?" he asked turning the paper over to look for a date.

"Why?"

"Maybe they're already on their way! Maybe they're already here!" Sora would have run straight to his boat if Riku hadn't grabbed his arm to stop him. "C'mon, Riku!" he whined. "We've gotta go find them!"

"Sora, calm down. You have no idea if Donald and Goofy are even here yet." Somehow, Riku's words cut through Sora's excitement and managed to quiet him down. Once he was sure Sora wouldn't run off, Riku let go of his friend's arm. "We can go back now if you want, but don't get your hopes up."

"All right, all right."

The three walked back to their boats; Sora would have run if Riku and Kairi hadn't held him back. As they untied the moor lines, Wakka and Tidus spotted them and ran on over. _Great,_ Sora thought. _Now we have to come up with an excuse for why we're leaving._ For some reason, explaining that they were expecting visitors from another would didn't sound like a good idea at the moment. "Hey, where you guys goin'?" Wakka asked as he tucked his blitzball under his arm.

"We've got some stuff to take care of back home," Kairi replied, flashing a winning smile. As if she'd hit a switch, her feminine charm was suddenly at a maximum. "You boys go have fun – we'll see you later, m'kay?"

Wakka blushed and scratched his head with embarrassment. "Okay, Kairi. See you guys later, ya? Let's go, Tidus!" They left without any further questions.

Sora and Riku stared slack-jawed at Kairi. Finally, Sora blurted out, "You are _evil._" He laughed and shook his head, almost as if he couldn't believe what he just saw.

Kairi looked as injured and innocent as an abandoned kitten. "Whaaat? Why? What'd I do?"

"Never mind, never mind." Sora waved his hands dismissively, still chuckling. "Let's go!"

They raced over the water as fast as they could and, once they reached shore, ran up the street towards Sora's house. Riku's house was on the way; his sister Yuri was sunning herself on a folding chair in the front lawn and looked up as they passed. "Hey, Baby Brother!" she called out, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head.

"What?" Riku replied, sounding more than a little irritated.

"Two weird guys were looking for you three."

_That_ stopped them. "What do you mean, 'weird?'" Riku asked.

"Well... one of them was a duck."

"Donald!" Sora yelled, jumping in the air with excitement.

"And the other was... a dog or something."

"And Goofy!" Sora looked on the verge of exploding with joy. "When did they come? When?"

Yuri rolled her eyes skyward in thought. "Oh God, I dunno... half hour ago? Forty-five minutes? I told them you weren't around, and they asked where your house was, Sora. I pointed them in the right direction and off they went."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were already gone by the time Yuri finished talking. They ran at breakneck speed all the way to Sora's house, even though they nearly got run over a few times while darting across the street. When they reached the house, Sora flung open the door and raced inside without bothering to remove his shoes. "Mom!" he yelled. "Has anyone – "

As he rounded the corner, Sora crashed into something and went flying head-over-heels in a cloud of white feathers. After a moment of seeing stars, Sora discovered he was laying on a very disgruntled duck, who promptly began squawking for him to get off. His mother looked over from her conversation with Goofy, who had just been complimenting her fruit smoothies. "Oh! Good, you're home. You have a few guests, Sora."


	4. Chapter 4

"Gawrsh, we've been lookin' fer ya fer a while, actually," Goofy explained between mouthfuls of cookie. "Soon as we got yer message a couple'a days back."

"So what _took_ you so long?" Sora asked from where he sat on the couch next to Riku.

"Goofy got us lost," Donald replied, helping himself to several more cookies that Sora's mother set out on a platter.

Goofy rolled his eyes skyward and thought very carefully. "But Donald... weren't _you_ the one drivin'?"

"_Anyway_," Donald continued, ignoring the snickers of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, "the King sent us to get you guys as soon as he got your message. We're supposed to take you back to Disney Castle."

"For how long?" Sora's mother interrupted.

Startled, Sora turned to look at her; he'd totally forgotten she was in the room. As she hugged herself nervously and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, he suddenly noticed streaks of gray in her dark hair. When had those appeared? "Are you okay, Mom?"

"If you're going away again, I want to know how long you'll be gone this time." Her voice wavered slightly as she spoke, and Sora realized why she was so upset – she didn't want to lose her only son again.

Donald held up his feathered hands reassuringly. "Don't worry, ma'am. Sora just had a few questions King Mickey wants to answer for him. He'll be back in a few days, promise."

"Yeah, don't sweat it, Nana," Riku added, and he ruffled Sora's hair. "I'll look out for Sora for you."

"We'll all look out for each other," Kairi chimed in as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

Nana couldn't help but smile. "I know you will. But I still have to worry – it's what mothers do."

In one movement, Sora vaulted lightly over the couch and swept his mother up in a hug. "Tell you what, Mom," he said once he put her down. "If I don't come back in... in ten days, then you can ground me for the rest of my life. I'll stay in my room all day and do homework, except for when you want me to do chores or clean the gutters or something nasty like that, and I'll never ever complain." He flashed his trademark smile. "Sound good?"

"Hmm..." Nana appeared deep in thought for a while. She draped one arm around Sora's shoulders – it was a little harder to do now, since he'd grown taller than her – and said, "All right. You've got yourself a deal, buster." Suddenly, her friendly gesture turned into a headlock and she gave Sora a massive noogie. "Riku, Kairi," she said over Sora's yelping, still grinding her fist into his scalp, "I give you permission to beat up my son if he ever gets out of hand, okay?"

"Got it, Nana," they replied, chuckling.

Finally, Nana released her son. "Now go on," she said, patting his butt affectionately. "Get whatever you need. I'm guessing you guys will be leaving soon?"

"Soon as we can," Goofy confirmed.

"Right!" Sora ran upstairs to his room. He didn't need much – a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and that was about it. He kissed Nana goodbye, sheepishly accepted some food she'd prepared for him, and hurried out the door with the others. Riku's situation was easy enough; he went inside his house to grab some things, told Yuri he was leaving for a few days, and that was the end of it. It wasn't so easy for Kairi, who had to explain everything several times over for her parents before finally being allowed to leave.

The sun had set and the first stars were appearing when they were finally ready to leave. "Where's your ship?" Kairi asked Donald and Goofy as they walked towards the beach.

"In orbit," Goofy replied. "Chip n' Dale will bring it down when we call 'em."

As if on cue, Donald pulled out a small device that resembled a remote. He pushed a button and a red light began to flash. "They'll be here any minute," he said.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi craned their heads back in hopes of seeing the Gummi ship approach. For a while they couldn't see anything other than the stars, when suddenly Riku pointed. "Look! There they are!" Sora followed his gesture and saw what first looked like a falling star. But as he watched, the light curved towards them, growing and growing until it was nearly too bright to look at. Sora threw up his arm to shield his eyes as the Gummi ship came to a halt above them, engines thrumming and kicking up whirlwinds of sand, and hovered for a few moments before lowering to the ground.

"Wooow," Kairi breathed as she shook the sand from her hair. "Impressive." Indeed, the Gummi ship was much more extravagant than the one Sora used on his adventures. It looked more suited to space cruises than interstellar battles.

"Nothing but the best for our royal guests," Donald said, marching towards the lowering gangplank. The others fell into step behind the little duck and followed him inside the ship.

The interior was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, and everyone got their own cabin. Sora tossed his bag on his bunk and ran to Riku's cabin. He stopped in the doorway and grinned excitedly at his friend, not saying anything.

"What's with you?" Riku asked, arching one eyebrow with amusement.

"We're finally doing it, Riku," Sora said. "We're finally going. I'm going to get some answers."

"That's the plan, anyway."

Sora turned to find Kairi's room, then stopped and poked his head back in. "And Riku?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for coming with me."

Riku responded with a casual mock-salute. "Wouldn't miss it for all the worlds, Sora. You know that."

The trip to Disney castle took longer than most journeys Sora made on a Gummi ship, partially because the two worlds were so far apart and partially because the luxury ship wasn't built for speed like the fighters Sora usually flew. Still, the two-day journey was pleasant enough, with no Heartless or Nobodies threatening them. They spent most of the time with the ship on auto-pilot while they swapped tales of what had happened in their respective worlds since the defeat of Xemnas and the Organization. Sora was surprised to hear that inter-world travel was becoming more and more common, now that the pathways were safe and as societies discovered the technology needed. He wondered how much longer it would be until the Destiny Islands had a Gummi port and he could travel to visit all the friends he made whenever he wanted; hopefully it wouldn't be too long.

They were eating breakfast when they finally arrived. "We're entering Disney Castle airspace," Chip announced over the intercom. "And we'll be landing in about five minutes." Sora quickly shoveled the last of his egg into his mouth and bolted for the mess hall door while Riku and Kairi followed at a more leisurely pace. He ran into the cockpit and immediately pressed his face against the windshield to get a better view of the great white castle as it loomed into view.

The Gummi ship lurched abruptly to the side, throwing Sora off-balance. "Hold on," Goofy warned as he manned the ship's controls. "We're goin' in!" After a few more acrobatic maneuvers, they safely landed in the Gummi dock.

Sora halfway expected King Mickey to be waiting to meet them as soon as they got off, so he was mildly disappointed when the little mouse wasn't there. "C'mon, follow us," Donald ordered, starting up the stairs to the main floor. "The King is probably working in the the throne room."

The little entourage made its way through the castle grounds and stopped before the massive set of doors that led to the throne room. Sora smiled knowingly as Riku and Kairi stared up in awe at the giant doors. Donald cleared his throat and Goofy snapped to attention. "Welcome," Donald said with great pomp and circumstance, "to Disney Castle!" With a flourish, he opened the tiny door that was the real entrance to the throne room, and Sora chuckled at his friends' surprise.

When Sora first visited Disney Castle, the throne room was a place of bare, regal austerity. It couldn't have been more opposite now. Tables and chairs were set up all around the room, and close to a hundred people milled around, relaying messages from one table to the next, huddling around maps and charts spread out on tabletops, and occasionally running up to King Mickey, who moved from one table to the next.

The little king spotted Sora and the others and he broke out in a grin. "Sora! Riku! Kairi! Good to see ya made it!"

"What's going on, Your Majesty?" Sora asked as King Mickey walked up to them. "Who are all these people?"

"These guys?" The king waved one gloved hand around the room. "They're my assistants, advisors, and ambassadors to other worlds." He shook his head with exasperation. "Lemme tell ya, this travelin' between worlds business is a real can of worms."

Sora exchanged confused looks with Riku and Kairi. "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell ya later. First, let's go someplace quieter so we can talk." They left the chaos of the throne room behind them and started walking down the hallway towards King Mickey's library. "Ya see," Mickey explained as they walked, "before this whole business with the Heartless and the Organization, travelin' between worlds was pretty rare. In fact, this world here was about the only one that could do it."

"But," Goofy added, "we didn't travel much 'cause we didn't want to upset the world border!"

"_Order!_" Donald corrected.

"Right," King Mickey continued. "Introducin' Gummi technology to different worlds before they're ready is bad news. But once Xenahort's Heartless started messin' around with Kingdom Hearts, and when the Organization started causin' trouble too, we couldn't be as careful as we used to be." He opened the door to his library and stood aside so the others could enter. "Now we've got all sorts of people usin' Gummi ships, and some of 'em aren't the nicest of characters. They'd take advantage of those who don't have Gummi technology, if we weren't there to stop 'em."

The group settled themselves on various chairs and tables set up in the center of the library. "Gee, I'm sorry Your Majesty," Sora said as he sat in an overstuffed chair. The way the king described it, it seemed like it was _his_ fault there was so much trouble.

King Mickey waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Sora." He hopped onto an ottoman and turned to look at Sora. "Now, tell me about what's been botherin' ya."

Where to begin? Sora took a deep breath, organized his thoughts as best he could, and began to speak. With Kairi occasionally adding her own information, he told about his dreams of places he knew but had never visited, faces he recognized and had never met. He spoke of the feelings inside him that weren't his, the sudden appearance of personality quirks that he'd never had before. Most of all, he talked about Axel, and how guilty he felt about the Nobody's death. He wondered aloud how it was possible for someone without a heart to act with such... such compassion, and how Axel could speak of a heart he was acutely aware he didn't have.

At times during his speech, Sora suddenly would begin to wonder if he was actually the one speaking, whether the words were his... or Roxas's. Despite the warmth in the room, Sora felt a chill go down his spine, and he shivered.


	5. Chapter 5

Sora wasn't quite sure what to make of the long silence that followed once he was done speaking. Unnerved, he looked around the room to see what the others' reactions were. Donald, Goofy, and Riku were concerned for their friend. Kairi was sympathetic – after all, she was going through something similar to Sora. King Mickey was absorbed in thought, his brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin. Sora wanted to ask him what he was thinking so hard about, but decided it was best not to push it.

"Well," the king said finally, "Ansem the Wise would be able to answer all your questions if he were here."

That was definitely _not_ the first answer Sora wanted to hear.

"But he's not here," King Mickey conceded, "so I'll do the best I can." He hopped off the ottoman and began pacing back and forth. "First off," he began, holding up one pudgy finger, "I think ya misunderstood Axel. He was a Nobody, and Nobodys don't have hearts. Because they don't have 'em, they crave hearts. Axel probably was attracted to Roxas because he was your Nobody and had some resonance with your heart. It wasn't actual friendship."

Sora shook his head. That couldn't be right! He shouldn't just brush off Axel's feelings like that! "But – "

"Secondly," Mickey interrupted, holding up a second finger, "far as I know, what you're describin' shouldn't be happenin' to ya at all."

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, Roxas – and Naminé – weren't real people, see. They were just fragments of you and Kairi. So when they became part of you guys again, it's not like somethin' new was added to ya; it was just like puttin' back the missin' pieces of a puzzle. Which means that nothin' should've changed."

Sora was beginning to get irritated. "But things _have_ changed! That's the whole point!"

The king held up his hands disarmingly. "Now now, calm down. I see that. Obviously there's more to what's goin' on than I know." He sighed, his whip-like tail tracing patterns in the air as he thought. "It might have somethin' to do with what happened in the time before ya were reunited with your Nobodies. Ya say ya have memories of people and places you've never seen?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. It happened before Roxas... before, too. Like, when I visited Twilight Town, it was like I'd seen the place before, even though I hadn't. But it's even worse now."

"It's the same for me too," Kairi added quietly, staring at her shoes. "But I don't think I have it as bad as Sora does. Only once in a while."

King Mickey nodded as though they'd just said something very profound. "It must be because Roxas and Naminé interacted with other people while they existed." He grew more excited as he spoke, as if he were discovering the ideas just as they were leaving his mouth. "Even though they weren't real people, they still acquired memories, and they must've used those memories to create somethin' like a heart so they could feel – or, at least, they _thought_ they could feel. Their emotions weren't real, of course."

There was silence for a moment as everyone digested the king's hypothesis. Then, almost too softly to hear, Kairi said, "How can you say that?"

"Whaddaya mean?" King Mickey asked, frowning with confusion.

"I mean – " Kairi cleared her throat and began to speak louder " – I mean, how can you talk about them like they weren't actual people? How can you say their emotions weren't real?" She pounded her fist weakly on the table she was leaning against, as though she was physically and emotionally drained from the whole experience. "I'm feeling Naminé's emotions right now, and they're pretty damn real to me."

Riku and Sora exchanged worried, surprised looks. They had _never_ heard Kairi swear before. Riku opened his mouth as if to speak and then, perhaps wisely, decided to remain silent. Sora also felt compelled to speak; he had throughout the king's explanation. He couldn't say why, but Sora knew – just _knew_ – that the king was dead wrong. Maybe it was just because Roxas didn't like what he was hearing, that he felt insulted by King Mickey's description of him, but that was the whole point – that he _felt._

"In my head, I know what you're saying is true," Kairi continued before Sora could speak, standing up straight and staring down at the little king. "But that doesn't explain why I feel so... so _hurt_ when you talk about Naminé and Roxas like that. It's like you're talking about _me._" She stopped for a moment, then chuckled wryly. "In a way, you know, you _are_ talking about me."

King Mickey was nothing if not a diplomat; he stifled his irritation and defensiveness almost immediately in face of Kairi's challenge and put on a conciliatory face. "Now, I understand you're upset," he said in his most pacifying tone, "and ya have every right to be. But that doesn't change the facts: Roxas and Naminé were Nobodies, and as Nobodies they had no hearts. That's the whole point of a Nobody's existence – or nonexistence, dependin' on how ya look at it – and because they had no hearts, they can't feel emotions like you and me. That's just how it is."

Kairi, hands on her hips, glared down at King Mickey with an expression that Sora had only seen a few times in his life, when Kairi got _really_ mad. "Look," she said, "maybe some of those Organization guys didn't have hearts, but Roxas and Naminé – and Axel too – are _different._ I can _feel_ – "

"How d'ya know the emotions aren't just yours?"

Despite her anger, Kairi was stunned into silence and merely stared at the king.

Encouraged, King Mickey continued. "The heart's a tricky business, ya see, and it's hard to – "

Sora couldn't stand it anymore. "Don't talk to Kairi like she doesn't know anything!" he snapped, jumping to his feet. "She's a Princess of Heart, isn't she? I'll bet she knows more about the heart than you ever will!"

"Sora!" Donald yelped, terrified of where the quarrel was headed.

"Calm down, Sora," Goofy pleaded. "Arguin's not gonna – "

"No!" Sora interrupted. "I'm tired of listening to Mickey talk as if he knows exactly what we're going through when he doesn't! It's more complicated than he thinks it is!" He turned to Riku, who so far hadn't spoken or so much as moved, for some support.

Riku peered out from beneath heavy bangs and locked eyes with Sora. "Don't drag me in to the middle of this," he warned. "You're overreacting way more than you normally would, Sora. It isn't like you to get this angry."

"I'm not angry," Sora retorted. He moved to stand next to Kairi, a show of solidarity against all opposition. "_Roxas_ is."

If it were possible for someone to look surprised, irritated, worried, upset, and exasperated all at once, Riku did. He hesitantly reached out, as if afraid of what the strange boy before him who looked like his old friend. "Sora..."

Brushing Riku away, Sora took Kairi's hand. "C'mon, Kairi. We're going."

They stormed out the door and down the hallway, the others scrambling to catch up. Baffled servants and courtiers of all sizes and species parted to let Sora and Kairi pass, leaving a trail of curious whispers in their wake. Riku, the fastest of the group, was the first to catch up with them. "Sora, Kairi – what the hell are you guys _doing?_" he hissed as he jogged alongside them.

"We're going somewhere where we'll get _real_ answers," Sora replied, looking straight ahead.

"You mean the answers that you _want_ to hear?"

"Whose side are you on!"

"Goddamn it, Sora, I'm not on anyone's side! Don't force me to choose between friends!"

By now they'd entered the Gummi hangar. Sora paused for only an instant, then he spotted the _Highwind_ and made a beeline for it. While he and Kairi boarded the ship without a second thought, Riku paused and looked towards the door, where Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey were running towards them. "Sora! Wait!" Donald and Goofy yelled.

"Riku! Do something!" King Mickey shouted.

Riku looked at the _Highwind_, back at the three running towards them, and ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "Son of a _bitch,_" he swore, and he bolted up the gangplank just before the hatch closed. He entered the cockpit and collapsed into a seat just before Sora gunned the engines and they roared out of the hangar. Closing his eyes, Riku tilted his head back and covered his eyes with one hand while holding his aching ribs with the other hand, trying to catch his breath. "Shiiiiiiiit... shit shit shit..." He looked up at Sora, who was slumped over the controls in the pilot's seat. "Do you know what we just did?"

"Yes," Sora mumbled. Far from the rage he showed just minutes ago, now he looked absolutely miserable.

"We just stole a ship from the king."

"I know."

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know!" Sora's voice quavered with barely-restrained tears. "I... I've never felt that mad before in my life! I don't know what got into me. It's like... just listening to him made me more furious than anything..."

"You know exactly what got into you," Kairi sighed, gazing out the windshield. "...What got into both of us..."

An uncomfortable silence stretched on for what seemed an eternity. Finally, Riku looked at his two friends and asked, "So... where are we going, exactly?"

"Radiant Garden," Sora answered. "I figured... I figured we could ask Tron for more information about, you know, Nobodies and the Organization. Maybe we missed something last time."

Riku's mouth twisted in a sardonic smile. "Hey, that's actually a pretty good idea." He punched Sora lightly in the arm. "Probably the best idea you've had all day. Not that that says much."

Sora was not terribly amused.


	6. Chapter 6

Sora expected those at Radiant Garden to know about his reckless behavior at Disney Castle, and he braced himself for a verbal onslaught as he exited the _Highwind_ to meet Yuffie and Aeris, who were waiting for them on the tarmac. Yuffie glared at Sora, her face set in a ferocious scowl. "Soraaaa..." she growled.

Sora cringed and Riku exchanged worried looks with Kairi.

"What _took_ you so long?" Yuffie demanded, gesturing wildly. "We were afraid you'd _never_ come back!"

"Uh..." Caught by surprise, Sora blinked; the next thing he knew, Yuffie had enveloped him in a massive hug.

Aeris just smiled at her friend's exuberance. "It's been too long since we last saw you, Sora, Kairi – and you must be Riku," she concluded. Riku gave a self-conscious little wave at the mention of his name. Aeris returned the gesture, albeit more confidently. "Sora's told us so much about you that it's hard to believe we've never actually met."

"Sora's talked a lot about you guys, too," Riku replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Yuffie peered at Riku, but didn't release her death-grip on Sora. "So _you're_ the infamous Riku, huh?" She tilted her head and pursed her lips, as if making some mental calculations. "Yeah..." she said finally, "you're pretty cute, I guess."

Kairi almost fell over laughing at Riku's bemused expression, while Sora took the opportunity to worm free of Yuffie's clutches. "Hate to tell you guys," he said, fixing his rumpled clothes, "but we didn't come just to visit. We need Tron to help us find some information."

"Ansem's computer?" Aeris asked. "What do you need information on?"

Sora squirmed uncomfortably. "Nobodies."

Aeris fixed Sora with a concerned, intense gaze. "Why? They haven't come back, have they – the Organization?"

"Something's come up," Riku replied, "and we wanted to look into it." His tone made it completely clear – no more questions.

After a heartbeat of awkward silence, Yuffie shrugged. "Okay, she said, taking things in her usual cheerful stride. "Let's go find Leon. He can help you with that computer stuff. I think he's working on some new construction."

They left the Gummi port and entered the city proper. Aided by interplanetary commerce, Radiant Garden had grown tremendously since Sora had last visited, and he probably would have gotten lost if Aeris and Yuffie weren't there to guide him. Gummi ships of all sizes flew overhead while the streets bustled with people, most of them human but a few obviously were visitors from foreign worlds. Aeris and Yuffie weaved through the crowd with practiced ease while the others struggled to catch up. At one point, Kairi grabbed on to the hem of Sora's jacket to keep from falling behind; Sora blushed but otherwise did his best to ignore it.

After a few minutes, they found Leon helping construct a house in the Borough. He couldn't hear Yuffie and Aeris's shouts over the noise of hammers and saws, so Yuffie decided to tackle him to get his attention. "Was that _really _necessary?" he asked, sprawled on the ground with Yuffie sitting on him.

By way of an answer, Yuffie pointed at Sora.

"Sora!" Leon pushed Yuffie off, got to his feet, and brushed the dust off his pants. "It's been a while. Good to see you're back. You too, Kairi." He stopped, not recognizing Riku.

"I'm Riku." The boy nodded politely in greeting.

Leon rubbed his chin as though Riku had just explained everything. "So _you're_ Riku, huh? I've heard of you."

"So I've gathered."

Sora tugged at Leon's shirt like an impatient little kid trying to get attention. "Leon, we need your help. We want to access Ansem's computer."

"Ansem's computer? Any reason why?" Leon looked from Sora to Riku to Kairi, but they all avoided his gaze. He turned to Aeris and Yuffie for answers; they just shrugged and shook their heads. "Fine. Forget I asked." He waved at one of the construction workers and shouted, "Hey! I'm going on break for a while! Be back in an hour!"

"Really? You're helping us now?" Kairi asked, perking up.

Leon shrugged and started leading the way to the castle. "The most important things in life are the ones you can't talk about."

It was more like Sora was afraid that Leon would say the same thing Mickey told them, but Sora didn't dare admit it. He followed Leon through the city, mildly awestruck at all the buildings that had sprung up in his absence. Through the maze under the castle, Ansem's study, and the secret hallway, and they were at the terminal. Leon activated the computer with a few quick keystrokes and stood back. "Hey Tron, Sora's back."

A few lights winked on, the screen flared to life, and a digitized voice came over the speakers. "Hi Sora!" Tron said. "Glad to see you! Who are your friends?"

"This is Kairi, and this is Riku," Sora replied, gesturing. Kairi waved at what she thought were Tron's eyes while Riku just looked around the room curiously. "How have you been, Tron?"

"Optimal! Lately I've been restructuring the mainframe and giving the memory retrieval system a complete overhaul. Once I'm done, processing efficiency should increase by twenty-one point three seven percent!"

Probably the only one who understood Tron's enthusiastic speech, Leon smiled slightly. "I'd like to stay, but I need to head back to the Borough and help with the house. You guys should be able to handle it from here."

A look of sheer panic crossed Sora's face as he remembered the last time Leon left him alone with Ansem's computer. "B-but – "

"Relax," Leon reassured him. "Tron's been reworking the interface. It's much more user-friendly now." He headed for the door, throwing a casual wave over his shoulder as he left.

"Don't worry, Sora!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Me and Aeris will stick around for you!"

"Do you know anything about computers?"

"Nope!"

Sora rolled his eyes, a gesture mirrored by everyone else in the room besides Yuffie. He turned and surveyed the imposing terminal before him, determining his next course of action. "Okay, Tron. We need to access all the information you have on Nobodies."

"All right. Hit ALT and R." With Tron guiding him through the proper commands, Sora accessed the files about Nobodies in a matter of minutes. "Say," Tron said as Sora scrolled through a document, "where are Donald and Goofy?"

"Uh..." Sora glanced at Kairi and Riku for help; they shrugged helplessly and gestured for him to say _something_. "They'll be coming soon," he replied, unable to completely lie. At least, he figured they'd probably show up looking for him soon. He wasn't sure he wanted to face them when they did, at least not if King Mickey was with them. He couldn't face the little mouse just yet, not after what he'd done.

Suddenly, Kairi was right next to Sora, staring intently at the screen. "Find anything yet?" she asked.

"No... There's just so much _stuff_ to wade through... oh wait!" One file name in particular caught Sora's eye – _Destruction of Nobodies._ He opened the file and began scrolling through the contents.

"What's it say?" Riku asked, peering over Sora's shoulder.

"'Nobodies, as I've stated before, are constructed of the cast-off body and soul of a being whose heart is taken,'" Sora read. "'What happens when the shell is destroyed? The heart returns to the source of all hearts. What is the source of bodies and souls, if there is one at all?'"

Yuffie jumped up and down to see over everyone else's heads, gave up, and put her hands on her hips. "He's asking more questions than he's answering, you know." Aeris quickly shushed her, but Sora was inclined to agree.

Kairi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she read the screen. "There has to be _something_ here. Scroll down, Sora."

They read hundreds of musings and questions, dozens of postulations and hypotheses, but nothing definitive – no sure answer to what they sought. Sora's eyes ached and his brain was fried by the time Riku touched his shoulder, shaking him out of his reverie. "C'mon, Sora," Riku said, jerking his thumb towards the door, where Kairi was waiting. "It's late. Aeris knows a place we can stay the night."

"Hold on," Sora muttered, his eyes flicking briefly to Riku. "I think I'm on to something here."

Riku snorted. "You've been 'on to' something for the last two hours, Sora. Time to call it a day – give your poor little brain a rest. We can come back tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Sora closed the files he'd been scouring and shut down the computer. Riku threw a consoling arm over Sora's shoulders as they headed for the door, and Kairi took his hand before they left the darkened room, leaving the computer – and any truth it held about the Nobodies – lying dormant inside.


	7. Chapter 7

"There's got to be something we're missing." Sora picked at the pancakes Aeris set before him and rubbed the fatigue from his eyes. "I mean, Ansem was a genius or something, wasn't he? He's gotta have answers _somewhere._"

"Problem is, he was _too_ much of a genius," Riku remarked. He threw one arm over the back of his chair and gazed absently up at the ceiling. "He came up with so much crap that we don't know where to start."

Sora nodded and yawned enormously; he hadn't slept more than a few hours last night, and that was only partially because of his anxiety. When Aeris had said she knew a place where they could stay, she _really_ meant she had some room in her little house. Aeris shared the home's sole bed with Kairi, leaving the sofa and the floor for the two boys. Sora had insisted that Riku take the couch, and while it satiated his conscience, his muscles were starting to complain.

Kairi, much better rested than either of her friends, began slathering butter on her pancakes. "The biggest problem is that we don't really know what we're looking _for_. If we had a more specific idea, then maybe Tron could narrow the search for us. Pass the syrup."

Once she was sure everyone else had their food, Aeris grabbed her own plate and sat down next to Riku. "Actually, I'm not sure how much Ansem's computer will help you. Though he did most of his research in secret, I'm pretty sure he focused mostly on the heart – not what the heart leaves behind." She looked around the table and winced slightly. "I'm sorry! I don't mean to be such a downer!"

"No, it's okay," Sora said. He took a giant bite of pancake chewed thoughtfully. "There's gotta be answers in there. I _know_ it."

They'd finished eating and were helping Aeris with the dishes when Sora was suddenly struck with inspiration. "I've got it!" he cried, almost dropping a plate in his excitement. He handed the plate to Aeris and bolted for the door, Riku and Kairi following close behind. Though he got a little turned around at one point, Sora quickly found his way to the castle and to the computer room.

"What is it?" Riku asked as he watched Sora activate the terminal.

"I think I've figured out how to narrow everything down to what we want, but it'll be too hard to do here. I'll do it from the inside."

"What – inside the _computer?_"

"Yep." Sora hit a final key and stood back. From the wall behind him, a red laser shot out and, bit by bit, he disintegrated and his data was imported into the computer system. There was a moment's disorientation as the transfer was completed, then Sora's head cleared and he looked around at the familiar blue-and-gray surroundings. "Tron? You there?"

"Of course," Tron replied in a disembodied voice. "Hold on a microcycle, Sora. I'll construct a temporary interface for you." From all around Sora, thousands of tiny points of light – bits of data – came together and coalesced into the Tron that Sora remembered. He rolled his shoulders as if a little stiff. "Nowadays I usually operate without any redundant functions, but for old time's sake I'll forgo a little efficiency."

"Umm... thanks." Sora was pretty sure that was a good thing, anyway. "Listen, is there someplace where we can look over all of Ansem's data on Nobodies at once?"

"Yeah, sure. Some subprograms were just putting the finishing touches on a data-organization system. It's by the I/O tower – we can head over there now."

Sora followed Tron to a large structure next to the I/O tower, half-expecting Heartless to attack at any moment. However, the virtual world was now safe, and they soon reached the data-organization system. The structure was one massive room, like a warehouse, that stretched away for hundreds of yards. Right inside the door was a bank of controls, which were manned by three programs who bustled around as Tron and Sora entered.

Tron called out to one of the programs, "Rec, is the system functional yet?"

"Ready whenever you are, sir," the program replied, entering a few more keystrokes before turning to Tron. "We should be able to handle anything you throw at us."

"Hear that, Sora? What do you need?"

Sora, who had been staring in awe at the massive room stretching out before him, jumped back to attention. "Oh yeah! I want you to call up everything in the system on Nobodies."

"So the search keyword is 'Nobodies'?" Rec asked, quickly typing the search commands. Large gates that lined the walls of the structure snapped open and streams of data began pouring in. Sora stared in amazement at the myriad shapes and sizes of the data – long, streaming tendrils of text; giant, glowing cubes; brilliant pinpoints of light; amorphous blobs of information. Soon the building was teeming with a zoo of data. Rec looked up at Sora. "Here it is."

_There's so much! Ansem probably forgot more things then I've ever known!_ Sora tore his eyes away from the spectacle floating before him and tried to gather his thoughts, to remember the sequence he'd figured out. "Okay... now show me only the stuff that has both 'Nobodies' _and_ 'Heartless' in it." Only a few items disappeared, and Sora frowned. "Now just the stuff with 'Nobodies,' 'Heartless,' 'Hearts,' and 'source of.'" This time most of the data vanished, though there were still a hundred-odd files left floating in the air. Sora turned to Tron and asked, "Is it all right if I walk up to them?"

"Sure – access them all you want."

Sora slipped past the control panel and walked out onto the main floor. He gazed up at the data, most of which was floating out of reach, and wondered, _How am I going to get to it?_ _Do I just reach up...? _Hesitantly, he held up his hand and pantomimed grabbing a rope and pulling a spherical file towards him. To his surprise, the file lowered obediently to his height. "Well okay then," he muttered. He ran his fingers over the smooth surface, little tremors like electrical shocks running up his arm as the data uploaded directly into his mind. It was just a brief touch, so Sora heard only whispers of the file's contents; he pressed his palm flat against the sphere and was nearly floored by the sudden rush of information flooding his brain. He yanked his hand back and staggered back a few steps, eyes wide.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Tron called out. "You have to watch out for data overload!"

"Uh... yeah. I'm fine." Sora shook his head to clear out the last traces of data. _Definitely not what I'm looking for..._ He sent the file away and pulled down another, this time being careful not to access the entire file at once. It was closer, but it still didn't answer what happened to Nobodies when they died. Sora went from file to file, casting some aside entirely while keeping others close by to look at again later. A pattern soon began to appear, or at least Sora _thought_ there was a pattern. Ansem's earlier files treated the heart and the shell like two discrete parts, but his more recent work seemed to show that there was some connection, however tenuous, between heart and shell even when they were separated.

The idea of a connection between a Nobody and its missing heart lifted Sora's spirits. That would explain why he'd had _deja vu_ in Twilight Town – it was because Roxas's memories were "leaking" into his heart. Maybe that leak could work both ways, meaning that some of Sora's emotions – or his ability to have emotions – might have seeped into Roxas. And if there were connections between Roxas and his heart, then maybe Axel...

"Excuse me," Rec interrupted. "Two more Users are entering the system."

_That'd be Riku and Kairi coming to see what the heck I'm doing._ Actually, that would make things easier; then Sora could show them what he'd figured out right away. "Where are they?"

"At the I/O tower; I'll message them to come here right away."

Sora nodded and returned to his search. It was going much faster now that he was accessing the information directly and not through a medium like a keyboard; he'd gone through almost all of the files already. Maybe he'd get Riku to help go through the ones he'd pulled aside in more detail; Sora's head was starting to ache, and he'd never been known for a good attention span anyway – this research stuff wasn't really his style, no matter how important it was...

Perhaps it was because his mind was starting to wander that Sora didn't register right away when he heard Tron say, "Hi guys! Long time no see!"

"Gawrsh, it's good to see ya, Tron." _That_ voice Sora recognized instantly. He froze, succumbing to the primitive instinct of _if I don't move, they won't see me_.

"Where's Sora, Tron?"

"He's right over there, going through some of Ansem the Wise's old files."

_...Well, damn._


	8. Chapter 8

Donald looked angry. That was nothing new, really. Goofy just looked happy and relieved to find Sora. Again, normal. For a brief moment, Sora wondered if perhaps they'd miraculously forgotten his furious outburst and that everything was right again in the worlds.

"You're in big trouble, Sora," Donald said, his hands on his hips.

No, they remembered all right.

"At least we found ya," Goofy added, grinning. "Ya had us real scared, ya know. We were worried you were mad at us."

They thought _he_ was mad at _them?_ "Uh... no, I'm not mad at you guys." Sora managed a sheepish smile and scratched the nape of his neck. "I guess I lost my temper, huh? Sorry. Um..." he looked around nervously. "Where's the king?"

"He's back with Riku and Kairi."

"Which is where we _should_ be going right now," Donald added, clearly still miffed.

Sora glanced over his shoulder at the files, which were floating aimlessly about. "But..." Well, he was pretty much done anyway. He could probably leave now and show the others what he'd done so far. Maybe he could show King Mickey that he _wasn't_ just too sensitive – that there really _was_ a connection between Nobodies and their hearts. "Tron – I'm going to go with these guys. Once I'm out in the real world, could you display these files here on the screen for me?"

"Of course."

Goofy gazed, slack-jawed, at the drifting clumps of data. "Gawrsh... what _are_ these things?"

"They're data. I'm not sure how they work in here, but I think they can help us find out what happened to Axel – and to me and Kairi too." Sora followed Goofy's gaze. They were actually pretty, in a strange, unearthly sort of way. "...At least, I hope they will."

Donald must have heard the note of distress in Sora's voice, because the irritation melted from his features. He sighed and shook his head, as if to say, _what can you do?_ "Come on, let's go." He walked back to the door, the others falling into step beside him. "You know," Donald remarked as they headed towards the port in the I/O tower, "the king was really worried about you too."

"Really? Why's that?" Sora asked.

"He was afraid you'd go off and try to find Kingdom Hearts again," Goofy replied.

Sora raised one eyebrow. _Kingdom Hearts...? What would..._ Though it was small, a morsel of an idea hatched in Sora's mind. "Why was he afraid we'd do that?"

Donald raised his arms in an exaggerated shrug. "I dunno! He wouldn't tell us much. Maybe you can ask him when we're back outside."

It was a good idea as any, though Sora was loath to face the little mouse just yet. It seemed he wouldn't have much of a choice, however. They reached the port and activated it; again, their bodies were broken down into tiny bits of information and whisked through the computer system to be reconstructed in the real world. Once outside, Sora blinked and shook himself; it always felt weird to be in real clothes after being inside the computer. Riku and Kairi were standing in front of the terminal, expressions of shock and worry on their faces. "Give us a little more warning before you do that next time, okay Sora?" Kairi said, her voice shaky.

"Sorry, guys. I guess I was a little too excited," Sora said. It seemed he was apologizing an awful lot today. Out of the corner of his eye, Sora spotted a small red figure and his throat tightened. He hadn't seen King Mickey at first and had hoped he'd left.

The king strode up to Sora and frowned up at him; Sora figured he'd look a lot like an angry parent if he weren't so short. "You've really got to stop runnin' off like that, Sora," he said. "Ya make people worried."

For some reason, Sora did not feel compelled to apologize to the king. He merely shrugged and smiled lopsidedly, hands in his pockets, looking everywhere around the room except at King Mickey.

Mickey sighed and shook his head. "Sora, I know you're upset – and I know what you're thinkin' too. Ya don't think I have any what you're going through. Well, you're right, kinda. No one's experienced what you and Kairi have gone through, so no one really knows. But I can still guess."

Sora finally managed to drag his gaze to meet Mickey's. "At least let me show you what I've found," he pleaded. "I've been looking through Ansem's work on his computers, and I think I've found some really important stuff!"

The king looked inquiringly at his two subjects, who just shrugged. "Well, okay," he said. "Though you've gotta remember that a lot of Ansem's work was just hypotheses – educated guesses, ya know? It might not be right."

"I know, I know." Sora hurried over to the computer terminal. "Tron, display those files I wanted."

"Right away." The screen flared to life as the files began opening in rapid succession. "Any particular order, or...?"

"No, this is good." Sora turned to Mickey, gesturing at the screen. "See? Look here. 'If the heart is strong, then the Nobody retains its form and even some memories of its previous life. Surely ties to such a strong heart could not be broken so easily. Indeed, residual ties to its heart could explain the lingering memories of some Nobodies. The heart is the source of memories, after all.'"

King Mickey rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... can I get a better look at that?"

"Here, let me help," Riku offered. He bent down and effortlessly lifted the little king up so he could see the screen, taking the opportunity to get a closer look himself.

"How recent is this document?" Mickey asked, peering at the dense text as if trying to decipher a code hidden between the lines.

Several lights blinked on the terminal before Tron told them when the document was last modified. Riku's eyes widened in surprise. "That's after we left Castle Oblivion – at least, after King Mickey and I did. Ansem must have continued his studies right up to the end and somehow sent the files to his computer here, even while he was away."

Sora pursed his lips. "Oh yeah... Castle Oblivion..." He still couldn't remember a single thing about the time he'd apparently spent in the castle. All he knew was what Riku had told him, and his friend had remained inexplicably evasive on the subject. "So... that means this info is..."

"About a year old. Maybe a little less," Riku said. "Is there anything newer on here?"

After a few seconds of processing, Tron pulled up several more files, starting with the most recent. "This is the newest," he said. "And the others get older by approximate one-week intervals."

Kairi shouldered her way between Sora and Riku so she could see the screen better. "'All hearts eventually return to their source – Kingdom Hearts,'" she read. "'This much is fact. And I have been led to believe that the strongest of hearts are still connected to their shells, however tenuous the hold. What happens if the shell is destroyed? I have a rudimentary theory: perhaps, like a rubber band stretched tightly, the bonds that connect heart and shell "snap back" when the shell is annihilated. Do the memories and experiences of the shell disappear, or do they return to the heart? Perhaps. It almost seems wishful thinking that creatures as wretched as the Nobodies would have such a fortunate afterlife.'"

The room fell silent as everyone digested the concept that Ansem had suddenly presented them. To Sora, it was practically a godsend. If he understood what Ansem was saying – and he was pretty sure he did – then maybe Axel hadn't just disappeared. Maybe he'd been reunited with his heart at last – wherever _that_ was. Sora just hoped he was happy now...

King Mickey looked up at Riku. "You can put me down now, Riku. Your arms must be gettin' tired."

"I'm okay," Riku insisted, but he put the king down anyway.

The little mouse paced around the room, hands clasped behind his back. "I spoke to Ansem a lot, and he never mentioned anythin' like this."

"There must have been a reason why he kept it secret."

"I can only think of a couple," Mickey said, nodding. "One, he was afraid of the Organization getting' their hands on this info. Who knows what they coulda done with it."

Sora leaned close to Kairi. "Wouldn't they have just, you know, killed themselves or something? Since that would have made them 'snap back?'" he muttered.

Kairi shrugged. "But then I think they would've lost their individuality, and they didn't want that."

"Oh."

"Or two," King Mickey continued, "he wasn't sure of his hypothesis yet. I'm kinda leanin' towards that. This idea goes against one of the most fundamental qualities of Nobodies – that they don't have hearts. Even just havin' connections to their old hearts changes the whole picture. It's not just an idea you throw out there on the fly."

The king continued to talk about Nobodies, hearts, and the lack thereof, but Sora was no longer listening. Instead, like a jigsaw puzzle, all these different pieces of information were coming together, and he was starting to see the big picture._ If Nobodies are made when someone loses their heart, that means their heart is destroyed. When hearts are destroyed, they return to Kingdom Hearts, which means..._ Sora gasped. Of course! Then if Ansem's theory was right, Axel would be inside Kingdom Hearts! Sora grinned, amazed at how simple it seemed.

Then he remembered – Goofy had mentioned Mickey's concern that Sora would try to find Kingdom Hearts again. Did that mean he knew about this all along? But the king had said Ansem never told him... Sora bit back the questions and accusations that threatened to burst out, resigning himself to merely watch the mouse closely for any sign that he was lying. It wasn't like the king to lie; he seemed such a good-hearted king, if something of a busybody. Still... Sora's faith in King Mickey had been shaken by the incident at Disney Castle.

Or maybe Sora was just still mad at him.


	9. Chapter 9

That evening, Sora was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice anyone was in the living room with him until a sweaty shirt hit him squarely in the face. "You're on my bed," said Riku.

"Ewww, Riku! You're gross." Sora's face contorted in a mock-grimace as he tossed the shirt back to Riku, but nevertheless he obligingly moved from Aeris's threadbare sofa to his makeshift bed on the floor.

"It's not _my_ fault Aeris hasn't ever heard of air conditioning." Riku made sure to wipe up every last bit of his sweat with his shirt before he threw it at Sora once again; this time Sora was expecting the foul-smelling attack and dodged it. "It's almost as hot in here as it is on the Islands, for God's sake."

Aeris popped her head out of the doorway to her bedroom. "Air conditioning is bad for the environment!" she called out. "Open a window if you're too hot!" The door slammed shut with a bang, followed by Aeris's muffled apology for closing it too loudly.

Grumbling under his breath about how the environment needed to cooperate more and was overrated anyway, Riku padded barefoot across the room and flung open the window while Sora followed his friend's example and removed his shirt as well. Riku plopped down on the sofa, wincing a little as he landed too hard on his left side. "You know, I've never seen you think so hard before in your life, Sora," he said, tucking his hands behind his head. He glanced at Sora, his brow slightly furrowed with worry. "This Nobody stuff's really bugging you, isn't it?"

Sora didn't answer right away. He laid back on his pillow and absently scratched his bare chest, his fingers leaving faint red marks on his skin. "Yeah... It's like..." He rubbed his face as he struggled to find the right words. "It's like, it bothers me, and it bothers Roxas too. And the fact that it bothers Roxas bothers me. You know?"

"MPD," Riku muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"Huh?"

"MPD – Multiple Personality Disorder. It's when a person's identity splits into several personalities, even though they're really all just aspects of one person. Kinda like what you have going on." Riku twisted his head to look at Sora and flashed a roguish grin. "Except you're not crazy, mostly."

Sora stuck out his tongue. "You're so full of it, Riku."

"What? It's a legitimate idea! We could try hypnotizing you, see if Roxas comes out to play. I've seen it in the movies."

"No way!" Sora chucked his pillow at Riku, hitting him right on his scars.

Riku flinched and inhaled sharply through his teeth. "Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me." He reached down and dug around in his pack for a few seconds before retrieving a small bottle of white pills.

"You're such a druggie," Sora teased as Riku downed two of the tablets dry.

"Psh. The main reason I still take these is because I need to fall asleep before you do – otherwise your snoring keeps me up all night."

"What?" Sora propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Riku indignantly. "I do _not_ snore!"

"How the hell would _you_ know? You're asleep when you do it!"

The door to Aeris's bedroom burst open, but this time Kairi stood in the doorway. Sora and Riku's heads snapped towards her, then away just as quickly as they busily tried to ignore what she had apparently forgotten: that she was wearing nothing more than a camisole and her underwear. "You know, _some _of us are trying to sleep here," she growled, though the poorly-suppressed grin on her face showed she wasn't terribly annoyed. "Don't make me come out there and teach you two a lesson."

Sora and Riku glanced at each other with identical bemused expressions. "Umm... we're sorry?" Sora ventured, stealing a glance despite himself.

"You'd better be," Kairi replied, looking as dangerous as she could manage while trying not to giggle. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

Riku sighed like an exasperated teenage son. "Yes, _mother._"

Kairi laughed and closed the door, adding, "I'm serious, guys!" right before it shut all the way.

The room was dark now, save for the faint orange glow of a streetlamp down the way. Sora sighed and shifted into as comfortable a position as he could on the floor, but could only stare up at the ceiling. Discomfort was only part of the reason why. "...Hey, Riku?" he finally whispered.

"Mmh?" Riku replied, not opening his eyes.

"Do... do you think we could find a way to Kingdom Hearts again?"

Riku's eyes snapped open and fixed on Sora. "Don't even think about it, Sora," he warned.

"About what?"

"You know exactly what. You want to find Kingdom Hearts so you can see Axel again and... apologize to him, or whatever it is you want to do."

Pouting a little that Riku had discerned his motives so easily, Sora folded his arms across his chest. "Well, why shouldn't I try it?"

"Because the _last_ time Kingdom Hearts was opened, Heartless almost took over all the worlds."

"But that was Ans- that was Xehanort! It's not like I'm going to do anything _evil__!"_

Riku sighed and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to stave off the drowsiness brought on by the drug. "Sora, _think_ for a minute. First you'd have to gather up all the Princesses of Heart again. Then you'd need to figure out a way to open the portal without messing with their hearts like Maleficent and Xehanort did." He propped himself up on one elbow to look at Sora better, gesturing with his free hand as he spoke. "Now, _if_ you managed to do all that and reach Kingdom Hearts, and _if_ what Ansem believed is even _true_ – which we don't know for sure – it's not like you can just waltz in there, sweep Axel off his feet, and come out again without a problem."

"Why not?"

Letting out a strangled growl of frustration, Riku collapsed back onto the sofa and covered his face with one hand. "It just doesn't work like that, Sora!"

"...But... but _you_ got out okay, didn't you?"

There was a long pause before Riku finally answered in a voice so quiet, Sora had to strain to hear it. "...More or less."

Sora lay silently on his back for a while, brow furrowed, as he tried to interpret Riku's words. Finally, he turned to look at his friend. "What do you mean, 'more or less,' Riku? ...Riku?"

Riku didn't respond. Whether he was actually asleep or just pretending, Sora couldn't tell. It didn't really make a difference anyway, he supposed. Still troubled over his friend's words, Sora lay awake for a while – he had no idea how long – before he finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Sora awoke to the sight of a large beak inches from his face. "Gaah!" he yelped, raising his arms in a protective reflex.

"Surprise!" Donald said with grin, completely oblivious to Sora's brief moment of panic. "Today's your lucky day, Sora!"

Sora rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blinked drowsily in the morning light. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riku awake and stiffly rise to a sitting position, looking around in mild confusion. "...It is?"

"Uh-huh!" Folding his arms knowingly, Donald nodded. "Wanna know why?"

"Um... yeah."

"We're gonna take ya on a grand tour of Radiant Garden!" Goofy interrupted as he entered the room from the kitchen. "After all, it's changed a lot since y'were last here."

Utterly confused, Sora shot Riku a questioning glance, which Riku responded to with a shrug; he was just as lost as Sora. "Um, wow!" Sora exclaimed, flashing a grin. "Thanks a lot, guys! ...Why?"

"Well," Goofy said, putting a finger on his chin and rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, "the King figured ya needed somethin' to get yer mind off all that depressin' Nobody stuff."

Donald nodded knowingly and added with a wink, "Yep, and we've got strict orders from the King – you've gotta have fun!"

Riku made a "you've gotta be kidding me" noise in the back of his throat, but Sora had to smile. After all, even though this was a gesture of apology from the King, his friends were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. Even though he'd been something of a jerk to them, they were still willing to go out of their way to cheer him up... Sora swept Donald and Goofy up in a massive hug. "Thank you so much, guys. You two are the best!"

Goofy _hyuk_ed and Donald chortled as Kairi, already fully awake and dressed, entered the room. "Hope you guys don't mind that we didn't wake you up when Donald and Goofy arrived," she said. "You two were sleeping so deeply."

Sora just smiled and Riku waved dismissively. "This way we're surprised," Sora said, releasing his friends and rising to his feet. Kairi happily returned the smile.

"And when we're done," Goofy added, "we'll take ya on home."

Sora's smile faltered a little bit. He should have expected as much – and he promised his mother he'd be home soon, anyway. Still, he was never one to give up on a quest readily. There had to be _something_ he could do! But he remembered Riku's words from the night before, and he realized that he was hard-pressed for options other than giving up and going home.


	10. Chapter 10

The more Sora saw of Radiant Garden, the more awed he was by how much it had grown. It turned out that Yuffie was the actual guide of their "tour," since Donald and Goofy knew as much about the area as he did, but he was glad they came along nonetheless. "Don't worry," Yuffie said with a wink as they walked down the sidewalk. "I know all the greatest places here!"

They did a mixture of seeing new things and visiting old friends. First they visited Cid, who'd set up a new Gummi garage. Sora was astounded by the sheer number of Gummi ships, all of different sizes and shapes, that Cid was currently working on. Gummi technology really _had_ spread. Yuffie showed them the new open-air market, where she treated them to fruit crisps. Kairi spotted a lacquered hair clip and squeaked excitedly, "Ooh, that's so pretty!"

The vendor, a squat blue creature with bulbous eyes, said something in an accent so thick that Sora couldn't understand him. "What!" Yuffie squawked. "That's a total rip-off!"

"What'd he say?" Donald asked.

"Five hundred munny?" Yuffie said, more to the vendor than to Donald. "That thing's worth a hundred, tops! It doesn't even have any charms!"

Whatever the little blue man said in response, he was obviously offended. While he and Yuffie argued over the price, Kairi dug into her pockets and pulled out a handful of munny. She quickly counted it, then her face fell. "Only three hundred." Resigned, she shrugged and wandered off to the next stand.

Sora and Riku glanced at each other and simultaneously rifled through their pockets. Their heads together conspiratorially, they added up their respective amounts and found they were just shy of five hundred. All hope seemed lost when Goofy spotted a five-munny piece on the ground and gave it to them. They pushed Yuffie aside and paid the indignant little shopkeeper, then jogged over to Kairi, who was cooing over some caged birds for sale. Riku snuck up behind her and covered her eyes, whispering, "Boo!" in her ear.

Kairi put her hands on her hips, but made no move to turn around. "Riku, I'm not going to fall for that anymore," she sighed, a smile flickering across her face.

"Me and Sora have a surprise for you." Riku gestured with a jerk of his head for Sora to position himself in front of Kairi.

"Oh _reeaally_? And what would that be?"

Riku uncovered Kairi's eyes and Sora grinned broadly, holding up the hair clip for her to see. She gasped with delight and threw herself on Sora in an enthusiastic hug, almost knocking him over. "Oh, you guys are the _best!_" she cried.

Sora chuckled sheepishly and looked over Kairi's shoulder at Riku, who quietly smiled back. "Are you going to wear it, or what?" he chided Kairi.

Kairi blushed, took the clip from Sora, and stuck it in her hair just as Yuffie, Goofy, and Donald walked up to them. Yuffie declared that it looked absolutely great on Kairi and the colors fit her perfectly, to which the others wholeheartedly agreed, and with that they continued on their outing.

As they walked, Sora constantly felt his gaze drawn up to the citadel that overlooked the city. The first time he'd visited this world, it had been the only structure remaining. Even though it still stood, it had changed so drastically that Sora had a hard time believing it was the same castle. Memories of what transpired there ran through his mind like an old film – the colors a little faded, some images blurry and indistinct, but it was all still there. "Hey, Yuffie?" he asked.

"Mmmmmyes?" Yuffie spun on her heel to face Sora, hands planted firmly on her hips.

Sora pointed at the towering spires overhead. "Do you think we could go up there? Not the lower parts...

I mean where we went when we first came here."

Yuffie must not have expected the question. She raised one eyebrow curiously. "Ummm... sure. After we visit Merlin's, m'kay?"

It didn't take them long to reach the old wizard's house in the borough. It, Sora was relieved to see, was one of the few things in the city that had remained completely unchanged since he last saw it. Without even stopping to knock, Yuffie opened the door and strode right in as if she owned the place, her little tour group following behind with varying degrees of hesitancy. "Hey Meeeer-liiiiiiiin!" she sang. "Guess who came to seeeeee yooouuuuu!"

Merlin looked up from where he sat at his old wooden table. Caught a bit off-guard, he blinked owlishly for a few seconds before managing an, "Oh my stars and garters!" He set down his cracked china cup with a soft clatter and turned to his guest, whom he'd been having tea with. "Isn't this a lovely surprise, Your Majesty?"

"Sure is!" King Mickey replied cheerfully, setting down his own cup of tea. "Hiya guys!"

"Hi, Your Majesty!" Kairi replied with equal enthusiasm, as if there had never been any argument at all. That was Kairi for you – she'd probably forgive even Xemnas, as long as he was sorry. She rocked back on her heels and waved, her mannerisms almost identical to those of a girl half her age.

"Are you enjoying Radiant Garden so far?" Mickey asked, ever the master of diplomatic small talk. Kairi nodded vigouously, a wide grin on her face. "Bring back any childhood memories?"

"Nope," Kairi replied, still grinning. "But that's okay – it's more fun to visit an entirely new place than one I've been to before!"

Sora breifly wondered how King Mickey knew Kairi was from Radiant Garden but dismissed the thought, figuring that kings learn that kind of thing. "We're going to see the upper parts of the castle after this," he said, deciding to follow Kairi's merry example.

The little mouse nodded, as if he'd been expecting as much, and smiled. Instead of answering, however, he turned to look at Donald and Goofy. "I hope you two have been on your best behavior. You're representatives of Disney Castle, you know."

Goofy and Donald snapped to attention and saluted, making Mickey laugh. "Relax, you two! I was joking!"

The group continued to talk for a while about the unimportant things that old friends always prattle about. It was almost like the old days, except that the shadowy threat of Heartless attacks was no longer there. Even during the most lighthearted conversations back then, there had always been an undercurrent of tension; Sora was glad it had disappeared. As the conversation progressed, Merlin was horrified with Sora when the boy admitted he wasn't practicing his magic regularly. "My goodness, boy, do you want to forget all I've taught you _again?_" he chided.

Though Sora apologized sheepishly, he honestly couldn't see a reason to practice hurting things. After all, the Heartless were gone, and he'd never dare use offensive magic on another person. He didn't say anything to Merlin about it, though; the old sorcerer would probably get so flustered that his hat would catch on fire or something. Things always got a little crazy when dealing with wizards.

Merlin stood, tugging his beard and smoothing his robes, and pointed his wand at Sora. "All right, boy. Show me you haven't forgotten everything yet. Let's see a little fire!"

"Whaaaaat?" Sora whined, his shoulders slumping. Merlin was making him cast magic _now?_

"C'mon, Sora," Riku teased as he leaned against a wall, arms crossed. "Show us what you can do – unless you've already forgotten?"

Sora stuck out his tongue at Riku. "I'll bet you've forgotten all your magic!"

By way of reply, Riku held out his hand and summoned a softball-sized sphere of purple flame, causing Merlin to twitter with approval. Riku quirked one eyebrow at Sora mischievously. "All right, now your turn."

Grumbling a little, Sora closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. How did it go again? It had been so long... He was so absorbed in thought that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Merlin lightly tapped him on the head. "Stop thinking so hard," the wizard instructed. "You'll give yourself a headache."

"Then how will I remember?" Sora asked, rubbing the spot where Merlin had rapped him.

Merlin stifled a smile in his massive beard. "The memory is already there," he said. "But instead of searching for it, let _it_ come to _you._"

_Okaay..._ Sora shrugged his shoulders and forced his brain to relax. He resisted the urge to start humming, which he tended to do when he was bored and didn't know what to do next. Then, like a puzzle piece clicking into place, the knowledge sprung to the forefront of his mind. With a smirk, he opened his eyes and performed the appropriate motions; a small cyclone of fire swirled around him, causing everyone to take a step back. However, even that impressive display wasn't enough to satisfy Merlin, so he had Sora go through every single spell he'd learned until he was convinced Sora hadn't become a complete magic flunky yet.

It took more time for Sora to remember some spells than others, so it was several hours before Yuffie was able to excuse them and leave Merlin's house. "Mind if I tag along?" Mickey asked, hopping down from his chair. Naturally, no one refused and the little mouse joined them.

It didn't take long for the group to reach the grand front entrance to the castle, though instead of going through the massive doors Yuffie led them to a smaller side entrance instead. "We don't really use the castle anymore," she explained as they walked down darkened hallways. "At first, everyone lived here because none of the houses had been rebuilt yet. But now that the city's grown, it's become more of a national landmark because we have a republic now instead of a king – no offense, Your Majesty..."

Sora only half listened to Yuffie's tourist-guide lecture. As he gazed at the oh-so-familiar surroundings, he half-expected Heartless to jump out at them at any second. At one point he realized his fist was clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into his palms, and he forced himself to relax. Boy, old habits really died hard...

"Kinda creepy comin' back here, huh?" Goofy whispered in Sora's ear. Sora nodded in agreement. _My thoughts exactly._ He was glad to hear that Goofy felt the same way he did – and, judging by Donald's slightly anxious expression, their mage friend was no different. Still, he'd wanted to come here for this very reason. It was time to see a new side of the former Hollow Bastion.

As they climbed higher into the castle, Sora felt his old battle-readiness slip away, layer by layer. When he wasn't constantly on the lookout for enemies, he could see how beautiful the architecture actually was. Who knew? He was even able to take time to read some of the books in the massive library, though most turned out to be boring, anyway. Just when he'd actually found a book that was interesting, Sora felt a tug at his jacket and turned to see Kairi motioning for him to be quiet. "What is it?" he whispered as he set the book down on a nearby table.

"C'mon," Kairi whispered back, gesturing for him to follow her. She glanced around furtively and began tiptoeing towards the door.

Instead of asking questions, Sora figured it was best to just shut up and do what Kairi said. He trailed behind her as she slipped out through the lower doors of the library and scurried up the stairs to the Grand Hall. Upon seeing the giant keyhole, now sealed and dark, Sora stopped and gaped. It was magnificent – there was really no other way to describe it. Even when silent and dormant, the power that it contained was impossible to ignore.

Sora was suddenly aware that Riku had silently joined them and was standing on the other side of Kairi. Sora prepared for the obvious questions – what are you doing here? Why did you sneak off? – but Riku said nothing. Kairi took their hands, smiling at each boy in turn, and the three stared up at the structure that had made such a huge impact on their lives.

Almost without thinking, Sora flexed his right hand and the keyblade materialized in his grip. He was a little surprised that he could summon it so easily, but even after all this time it was second nature. Still holding Kairi's hand, Sora held up the keyblade to examine it more closely. He then pointed it at the keyhole and sighted along its shaft, as though he were taking aim. _Keys close things, and they open things,_ he thought as he peered down the length of the keyblade. _Wouldn't it be easy? Wouldn't it be so easy if it would just open?_

And then something opened.


End file.
